


baby, I'll still be drunk on you

by peraltiagox



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Amy's Drinking Stages, Canon Compliant, Drinking, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Smut, in chapter 4
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:48:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26321431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peraltiagox/pseuds/peraltiagox
Summary: Amy's drinking stages through Jake's eyes.Each chapter is a separate one-shot, representing a different stage of drunk Amy, and will be set at various points in their relationship.And I got this feeling after you leaveIn the morning I'll still be drunk on youStill be drunk on you[Drunk on You - Oh Wonder]
Relationships: Jake Peralta & Amy Santiago, Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago
Comments: 38
Kudos: 172





	1. Spacey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to explore Jake's perspective and encounters with the each stage of drunk Amy. Fluffy, cute, some hurt/comfort. Some angst later...and definitely smut when we get to ch 4.  
> Mostly canon-compliant, we just don't see enough (well, really none at all) of Jake interacting with drunk Amy on the show and I need it so bad. 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy this!

Spacey Amy’s really just adorable. She’s a little more relaxed than her usual type-A, put-together self. She becomes more laid-back, and will partake in things that normal Amy might not usually do. _But_ nothing too crazy—she’s still Amy Santiago, she has a reputation to maintain (until she gets to four drinks, anyways). Jake really wants to officially rename this stage of her drinking scale as _Adorable Amy._ However, upon suggesting this to his girlfriend, he got a witty _are you saying I’m only adorable when I’m drunk?_ And so, one-drink Amy’s official title is spacey, and unofficially, to Jake, she’s extra adorable Amy.

He’s known about her drinking scale ever since Gina coined it at their detectives-only-getaway, but being able to experience it as her boyfriend has been an incredible journey, to say the least. Getting to see all sides of Amy has been one of his favorite things, and everything about it makes him fall in love with her even more. Take tonight, for example. They were currently at Shaw’s with the squad, a Friday night, celebrating a huge case he just closed with Charles. He was currently seated at the booth with Terry and Gina as he eyes his girlfriend across the room, playing darts with Charles and Rosa. It’s when she finishes chugging her first beer that she spots him looking at her and tilts her head and frowns as if to ask what’s wrong. Jake excuses himself and makes his way over to meet her at the pool table.

“Hey babe, what’s wrong?”

She instantly loops her arms around his neck and looks up at him, eyebrows furrowed like she’s thinking.

“Are you okay, Jake?”

He cocks his head, confused.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, Charles um, said you guys made that huge bust today.”

He chuckles, “Yeah, Ames that’s why we’re here—we’re celebrating.”

“Oh. Hmm.”

He smiles at her and lets his hands rest on her lower back.

“Hmm…?”

“Why do you look so sad then? Is something wrong?”

“I’m not sad, babe—I’m _so happy_ right now.”

Jake’s pretty sure none of his facial features show that he’s at all upset, or sad but the look on Amy’s face still shows concern and worry.

“You’re happy?”

“Yes. SO happy.”

Spacey Amy takes a while to process things as well—sort of like a child asking the same question over and over until it gets on your nerves and you have to shut them up with a chocolate bar. Except with Amy, Jake could _never_ get annoyed—it was literally impossible for her to get on his nerves. And, if he needed to, he had his own methods of shutting her up.

“Why are you so happy?”

Jake just smiles at her and moves to caress her cheek. Over her shoulder, he sees Rosa eye him and lift up a finger, mouthing _one drink._ He grins and mouths back _I know._ Yeah, one-drink-Amy kinda gets on Rosa’s nerves, but he’s happy to have his girlfriend all to himself.

“Well, babe, I’m _happy_ because, I’m here with the squad celebrating closing a huge case, and—”

“You solved a case?”

“Yeah, babe, that’s what we do—we’re detectives, remember? It’s our job to solve cases and catch criminals.”

“Hmmm yeah…”

She moves to hug him and lay her head on his chest, mumbling into his shirt.

“Babe?”

“Yeah, Ames?”

He presses a kiss to her forehead and she sighs contentedly, and Jake is definitely not prepared for what she says next.

“You’re the _best detective,_ y’know?”

Jake jerks back, causing her to jump a little. As he pulls back and looks into her eyes, he searches her face to see if she’s messing with him—but he doesn’t see her signature smug look or teasing eyes.

“Wh-what? Really?”

“Yeah, you solved the criminal and caught the case…you’re the best detective ever…”

She sighs happily and leans in to peck his cheek. It didn’t matter that they were dating, or that they were in love, the two of them were still Peralta and Santiago at the core. They were still competitive and argued about who the best detective at the nine-nine was. Amy Santiago would never willingly admit that _he_ was the best detective. She was the queen of competition, never backed down from a challenge- _even_ when in a loving relationship with Jake. This was _huge,_ this was monumental. He was going to lord this over her _forever._ Oh god, sober-Amy would never believe him, though. She would deny it so fast. He quickly fumbles in his pocket for his phone and clicks the record button.

“Wait, Ames, can you say that again?”

She looks up at him confused.

“...say what?”

Jake groans and tilts his head back. Of course. The one time Amy admits to him being the best detective, she’s tipsy and off the record. Of course. She’ll _never_ believe him. He reaches down to lock their hands together and lifts it up to his lips, kissing her knuckles as he speaks-hoping to prompt the words out of her again. He needed this, he loves Amy but this is the _one_ constant thing they argue about. Making sure his phone is still recording, he looks intently into her eyes.

"You just said..." soft kiss, and a giggle in a response, "...that I'm..." another kiss and he looks up to see Amy smiling brightly, "..the best..." he raises his eyebrows and she squints her eyes at him, tilting her head, thinking.

Then, her eyes widen and she releases his hand to wrap around his waist, then says, "ooh! You're the best!" she lets out a soft laugh and pecks his cheek.

"..the best...?"

"Yeah, you're the best boyfriend, Jake."

She plants a kiss on his lips, and for a moment, Jake lets himself melt into the kiss and his girlfriend's embrace. But as they pull away, he groans and frowns at her because Amy Santiago just said he was the best detective ever, but he'll never have proof. 

“Jake, are you okay?”

He looks down at her face and yeah, it’s _the most adorable_ thing. Her comment of him being the best detective almost forgotten as he stares into her eyes. Because, well, she did just say he was the best _boyfriend_ , and maybe that's enough. She’s pouting a little, eyes shining and crease in her forehead. It’s making his heart do somersaults at the very fact that she cares so much about him, _god_ he can’t get enough of her.

“Yeah, Ames—I’m great. I’m doing _so great._ ” He emphasizes it by pecking her lips and running his hands through her hair, resting his arms on her shoulders, locked around her neck.

“Why?” she has a small smile and speaks softly—a little sleepy and like a two year-old in their _why-phase._

“Well—I’m here with you."

"Aww..." she looks at him dreamily, rubbing her hands up and down her back and shit he loves her so much. He doesn't even care about his pride anymore, he'd do anything for her if it meant getting to look into her gorgeous brown eyes everyday. 

So, although these words might be a little fuzzy to sober-Amy tomorrow, he says it for one-drink Amy anyways, "Ames, _you_ are the best girlfriend, ever.”

She smiles widely at him and leans up to kiss him, a little too passionate for a public space in front of their friends, but Jake can’t bring himself to care. As they pull away, Jake sees Rosa walk over with two beers in her hands.

“Alright, I know we’re celebrating your case, but I’ve had enough of spacey Amy and you two making heart eyes at each other. Here you go Amy.”

Amy, oblivious to what’s going on grabs the drink and starts drinking while Jake pouts.

“But I love one-drink Amy!”

“Yeah, well I prefer two or three drink Amy.” Rosa smiles and slaps his back as she and Amy walk to where Gina’s sitting.

Jake lingers, watching his girlfriend laugh and chat with Rosa and Gina. And god, it’s truly something to loves someone _this much._ Even when one-drink Amy and six or seven drink Amy are drastically different, he finds himself falling for her over and over. He makes a mental note to remind her whenever he can, drunk or sober, that she truly is the best girlfriend, and, the most important person in his life. Because, every part, every version of Amy deserves to be loved and Jake has the great pleasure of doing that.

(He actually never brings up her drunkenly telling him he's the best detective, but he does tell her _she's_ the best detective a while later when he's on one knee, expressing his love for her. And for her tearful smile and the promise for a forever future, it's worth it.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading! 
> 
> I'm not sure-this is my interpretation of spacey Amy, we don't get a whole lot of her but I just turned it into her being super cute and in love with Jake. What'd you think?


	2. Loud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two drink Amy's a little loud!
> 
> Set after 6x05, Jake goes to pick Amy up after their drinking competition w/the FDNY.

Two drink Amy’s a little embarrassing to be around. Don’t get him wrong, he loves it when his wife openly declares her love for him in front of the entire bar, but he’s not a huge fan of her chatting loudly about going home and _boinking_ in the middle of a fancy restaurant. True story _,_ and Jake’s never letting Amy get to two drinks at a formal event or somewhere quiet. The thing is, after making it to five or six drinks, she’ll eventually sober up a little but never _fully—_ she always ends back at two or three drinks until the next morning. Which Jake knows is definitely the case as he steps out of his car. He hasn’t even turned around when he hears her familiar voice—loud and clear. The streets are quiet at this hour with all but the faint buzz of street lamps and some cars whizzing past.

“OOH JAKE—HEY!”

Some shuffling and an _oops._

“Hey ROSA! THAT’S MY HUSBAND!”

Jake turns around to see Amy shuffling along the sidewalk, with Rosa’s arms around her, holding her steady. He rushes over to her and grabs her other arm, lifting it around his shoulder and wraps his arm around her waist.

An hour ago, he finally checked his phone after finishing up the paperwork on the Trudy Judy case to a slew of texts from Charles, Rosa, Amy, and even one from Captain Holt. Apparently, they were all at Shaw’s having a drinking competition with the FDNY. Those _jerks._ Jake didn’t really understand what was going on, but from the looks of it, they were all hammered.

“HEY BABY!”

Amy’s voice cuts through Jake’s thoughts and he gently brings his other hand to her mouth, hoping to muffle her voice so as to not attract any unwanted attention.

“MMmPHHh”

“She went up to nine drinks tonight, but is sobered down to two, now. Obviously.”

Rosa looks up over at Jake as he drags Amy out of her arms. It seems as though Rosa had sobered up, but his wife, oh, his lovely wife was still the slightest bit intoxicated. 

“I can see that.” He looks down at Amy, “hey thanks for sticking around, Rosa.”

“Sure, no problem.”

“Do you need a ride, too?”

“Oh, no—someone’s picking me up.”

“Oh _really?”_ and then tentatively asks, “who?”

He knows Rosa probably isn’t going to say who, but it’s worth a try and—

“MMh—WHO yeah, whoziit??!”

Jake jumps a little to look at Amy who has escaped from Jake’s hand covering her mouth and is now yelling at Rosa, and Rosa’s _pissed._ Jake can only laugh at the scene in front of him, somehow his wife is also quite assertive when loud, making it hard to ignore her. And apparently, as Jake discovers tonight, she has no respect for privacy and no fear of their usually very scary friend.

“ROSAAA—are you in LOOVEEE??”

Amy’s now reaching for Rosa, but Jake keeps her steady with both hands now gripping her shoulders. Rosa takes a step back away from her and glares at Amy.

“No. Nothing like that—we’ve only been dating for a while.”

His wife basically jumps out of his grasp and he reluctantly moves away allowing her to take a step towards their friend a finger out, pointing at her.

“AHA!”

Jake’s can't hold back his laughter now and he really doesn’t care that Amy was being so loud—really, it was so late that even for Brooklyn, there's barely anyone on the streets. The two women whom he both loved and cared for – the usually terrifying one glaring and backing up along the sidewalk, and the rule-follower pointing her finger and yelling— _god,_ this was truly, really entertaining

“YOU-YOU ADMIT IT! ROSA’S DATING!!”

Amy turns around to face Jake, grinning widely and he can’t help but smile back at her. And despite him being less than a foot away from her, she calls out to him like he’s thirty feet away.

“BABE! ROSA’S DATING SOMEONE!”

Jake chuckles and moves to hold his wife back in his arms, “I know, Ames—hey, you wanna keep it down a little?”

He kisses her cheek as she blushes, realizing that she’d been talking too loudly, “Oops..sorry.”

She really tries to whisper, but it still comes out loud enough for Jake to turn his head so she doesn’t yell directly into his ear.

“Peralta” Rosa’s now glaring at him “please take your wife home so she stops yelling at me. Two drink Amy is outta control tonight.”

Amy pouts and looks at Jake as he chuckles.

“No NO! Babe! I wanna hear who Rosa’s dating!!!” she whines a little quieter and if he didn’t love her, he’d be annoyed at her and drag her home— _although,_ if he’s honest, he really wants to know too. And, after tonight there’s no way he’ll be able to get a name out of Rosa—so he uses his wife’s current drunken state as leverage, turning to look at his long-time friend.

“I’ll take my wife home once you tell her who you’re dating.”

Rosa groans and opens her mouth to argue but Jake continues, “I know you’re a private person, _but_ my wife isn’t going to shut up till you tell her, and, she’ll probably forget it by tomorrow.”

Rosa glares at him, and flicks her eyes to Amy, who’s staring at her with wide eyes. After what seems to be a whole two minutes of silence, and Rosa contemplating, she opens her mouth to speak, before being interrupted by Amy’s loud voice yet again. She is persistent, if nothing else.

“Is it a GIRRLL or a BOYY?!”

Jake smiles remembering Rosa opening up to the squad a year ago about her sexuality and the months that followed working with Gina to set her up with different girls they knew. It was nice to get to see this side of his usually closed-off friend.

Quietly and carefully, she says, “Girl. Her name’s Jocelyn.”

“OOH! What’s she like??”

“Ugh, I think that’s enough for tonight, Jake?”

Jake smiles at Rosa knowing that she’s definitely shared more than she would’ve three years ago, so he grabs Amy’s arm, tugging her away from Rosa.

“Alright babe, let’s get you home.”

Jake turns to look at Rosa once more and she’s smiling at him. He knows deep down, she’s glad she’s sharing a little part of her private life with them—but that doesn’t stop her from threatening, “If you tell anyone else on the squad, I will _murder_ you.”

He grins, and nods his head, “Don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone.”

Rosa nods and turns to walk the other direction and Jake drags a now very sleepy Amy back to his car. Once they’re in, he reaches over to buckle her in, and as Amy turns to look at Jake he notices that she's frowning, or really, pouting— _god_ she’s the cutest.

“What’s wrong, Ames?”

“Why won’t Rosa share more things with us?”

“Oh, honey—” he turns to caresses her cheek “—I’m sure she will, and you know, she’ll probably bring Jocelyn in to meet us, she just needs time.”

Amy sighs contentedly and leans into his touch but her pout still remains and now her eyebrows are furrowed, staring into him deeply.

“You okay, babe?”

“Hmm—just, why are you so attractive?”

She yawns as he smiles at her.

“Oh, I don’t know, but I know that I married an equally, if not more attractive woman.”

He grins at her and pecks her cheek before moving to start the car.

“Really?”

Jake’s smile widens as he takes her hand and intertwines their fingers over the console. He’s pretty sure two-drink Amy has dissipated, and she was bordering on falling back into one-drink, and just plain delirious, sleepy Amy—which, Jake has to admit is a version of Amy that he quite enjoys. And, one that he gets to keep all to himself.

“Of course, babe. Now let’s get you home yeah?”

He turns to look at her but she’s dozed off, clutching his hand and snoring softly. He’s the luckiest guy in the whole damn world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha I guess two-drink Amy's also kinda annoying.   
> thanks for reading guys! Three and Four will be a little longer than the first two and coming sooon ❤️


	3. AmyDancePants

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three drink Amy!!!!

Jake looks at the kitchen, realizing they had left that morning in such a rush, the dishes have yet to be done. Usually, Amy would be the one coming home to do their dishes, clean the countertops and organize their fridge. However tonight, he was home before her, so he decides to get started on the cleaning - man, married life has really changed him. He clicks open Spotify to Taylor Swift’s newest album, squeezes the dish soap onto a sponge and starts to scrub the dishes. Yeah, so over the years of dating Amy Santiago, he’s picked up many excellent habits which he’s been putting into practice, ever since they moved in together. It’s become almost second nature to him—a clean house makes Amy happy, and so Jake isn’t even complaining about chores like he would’ve been four years ago.

He hums along to Taylor's voice as he busies himself with scrubbing the dishes. His focus on the task at hand and melodies of the upbeat song drowns out the sound of the front door opening, so he can’t help but jump in surprise as he feels soft hands wrap around his torso and a familiar body press up against his back.

“Ooh! Hey Ames, you’re back early!”

“Mmhmm…” he can feel her swaying her hips to the beat of the song against him.

“Hmm, babe how many drinks d’you have?”

While their wedding was perfect in every way possible-most of their guests ended up not making it due to the bomb threat. So, although they were still riding that newly-wed high, Jake and Amy had spent the past week following their honeymoon meeting up with family and friends. Tonight, Amy had gone out to get drinks with Kylie—and Jake had stayed back to allow her time to catch up with her best friend. The movement of Amy’s body was evidence to what Jake deduced to be that she had three drinks, _Amy Dance Pants._

“Dunno—I missed you, babe.”

She slurs her words and hums along to the song as she lets go and slides around him, moving her arms up to his shoulders and down to his arms, trying to pull him away from the dishes.

"Jake..." she sighs and smiles as he turns his head a little, to look at her.

Her hands grip his forearms and she's moving her body in a weird swaying motion that has Jake biting back a laugh-but oh, he loves getting to watch Amy at three drinks. Her dancing is not quite the best and not at all sexy, but it still turns Jake on a little (a lot) and he cherishes every moment of it. As he gets lost in the sight of her for a moment, her other hand reaches over and grabs his other arm as she pulls herself closer to him and-

“Hey, hey—wait, Ames hold on—” but it was too late, she tightens her grip on his arm and jerks it out, in attempt to twirl herself under him. And, in the process, the mug that was in his hand comes forward and spills soapy water all over his t-shirt.

“oooff”

His reflexes are incredible (he _is_ the best detective, after all) and he manages to catch his wife before she slips—however, he does drench her hair with soapy water in the process.

“Oh god—babe—” his eyes are wide as she clutches onto his biceps and pulls herself up into his arms, giggling in all her wet, soapy hair glory.

Jake can’t help but laugh along with her, and even though there’s gross soap suds in her hair that’s now brushing against his face, the joy his wife is currently emitting is so contagious and he just goes along with it. She swings her head up to look at him, and is smiling widely with no regard to her current drenched state. Yeah, _he loves her._

“Alright, Ames I love you but I’ve gotta finish the dishes, then we can get ourselves cleaned up—” he motions at his shirt and blows some bubbles out of her hair.

She shakes her head, “Nooo—Jake, dance with meee—” she pulls his wrists as she shakes her body around him, in what is most definitely not a dance move as much as simply moving her body wildly in various directions.

He smiles at his wife and her adorable inability to dance. _What a dork._

“Wooo! C’mon babe!”

She’s jumping up and down and swinging her arms back and forth, not at all to the beat of the song, and there’s really nothing Jake can do but join her. He spins her around and she giggles as he catches her and dips her down—pecking her lips quickly before moving them back up. He pulls her up with a little too much force which causes her to crash right into his chest and he instinctively wraps his arms around her. As she pulls away, he notices that some of the soap from his shirt gets on her face and she looks absolutely ridiculous.

Despite the current state that they’re in, her eyes are soft and loving as she looks up at him and if they weren't already married, he would've proposed to her right there.

“I love you so much.”

Jake’s eyes soften and he lifts his hand to wipe the soap off her forehead, then to comb through her wet hair and she settles against his chest, only to have more soapy water get on her cheek.

“Jake?”

“Mmhh?”

He pulls her closer to him, letting himself enjoy the moment—his wife, the love of his life in his arms, drenched in water and dish soap, standing in the middle of their kitchen with only the sounds of Taylor’s voice spilling out from his phone.

“We never got our first dance,” she whispers against him softly.

Jake pulls away slightly to look at her—she was right, after celebrating at Shaw’s and the devastating news of Holt not getting Commissioner, they never got to have a first dance or any of the other wedding festivities they had planned for. Her eyes are glistening with adoration up at him and he can’t help it—he leans in to meet her soft lips. She responds eagerly, moving delicately and deeply against him and his heart swells with the overwhelming love he has for her. Sure, they might not have had a perfect wedding by everyone else’s standards, but to him it was everything he could dream for. The way that he gets to come home to his _wife’s_ embrace and kisses, how he wakes up every morning to her warm body curled into him, every time he sees her face, he falls in love with her even more. And all he wants to do for the rest of his life is love her, to show her how much he loves her.

And so, as they pull apart, hearing the next song play he releases her out of his arms and takes a step back. Before she can react, Jake extends his hand out dramatically towards her.

“Amy Santiago, can I have this dance?”

She giggles and takes his hand, stepping back into his embrace, as he guides them to the opening notes of the song, softly humming along.

_This is our place, we make the rules  
_ _Have I known you twenty seconds or twenty years?_

Jake closes his eyes and rests his forehead against hers as she secures an arm around his neck, his right hand intertwined with her left and bodies held close to each other. They sway along to the music and Jake breathes her in—a blend of her shampoo, remnants of alcohol, the strong scent of lemon from their dish soap, and beneath the strong smells, he breaths in love, warmth, passion, care and affection.

_My heart’s been borrowed and yours has been blue  
_ _All’s well that ends well to end up with you_

Amy releases his hand to fully circle her arms around his waist, resting her head on his shoulder as he also wraps his arms around her, and up to cradle her head against him relishing in the closeness and intimacy. They’re barely moving along to the music now, rather, moving along to the beat of each other’s hearts.

_Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover  
_ _And you’ll save all your dirtiest jokes for me  
_ _And at every table, I’ll save you a seat, lover_

He leans down to kiss her forehead and, in the process, gets soap on his nose. As he spits and wheezes, Amy pulls back slightly to look at him and lets out soft laugh, using her thumb to brush his nose, then caresses his cheek lightly, getting lost in each other’s eyes.

“We look really stupid, don’t we?” she whispers like speaking any louder will break the little secure bubble they’ve created.

Jake laughs and runs a hand through her damp hair, and then down her arm to intertwine their hands, bringing it up to rest against his chest.

“Yeah—” he sighs out contentedly, “—but this is the best first dance in the history of first dances.”

Her eyes light up, her smile glowing and Jake tries to memorize every crease at the corners of her eyes, the curl of her lips and the flutter of her eyelashes. He’s certain not even the best artist could paint a more beautiful picture if they tried.

“It is.” She runs a hand through his curls and brings his head down so that their noses are touching and Jake can feel her breath against his lips—and his instinct is to close the distance and pour his love into a passionate kiss. But as they stare at each other, they pause.

They let themselves live in this interlude, the stillness and this space reserved for only them. An unspoken need to drag this moment out as long as possible.

“It’s perfect.” She breathes out, in barely a whisper, “I love you so much.”

Jake feels her words more than hears it and there as he breathes in again, he breathes in promise, he sees commitment, he holds on tighter to forever. _Their_ forever.

“I love you so much, Ames.”

Then they’re leaning in the little distance to meet each other’s lips—and it didn’t matter that they didn’t get a first dance in front of their friends and families. It didn’t matter because _this_ —whether it was a tipsy Amy interrupting his dishwashing, or him in a soaked t-shirt and warm body pressed against him, this was what made it perfect. The perfect woman in his arms, swaying to their love story anthem in their safe, warm home. This was all he needed.

_Can I go where you go?  
_ _Can we always be this close?  
_ _Forever and ever_  
_Take me out, take me home  
_ _You’re my lover_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (lyrics from Taylor Swift's _Lover_ \- umm so many of her songs are like made for Jake & Amy's love story idk)
> 
> thank you all for the kudos and comments - they make me smile and I'm glad you're enjoying this!


	4. Perverted (aka Horny AF)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four drink Amy's a little (very) horny, esp around her fiancé.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guys guys this is smutty. I mean, obviously. What did you think chapter four was gonna be. you've been warned! (also changed the rating)   
> okaaay hope you enjoy!   
> ❤️❤️❤️

It was _really_ nice, to attend a wedding while being engaged. Experiencing the joys of two people being united without the stress of having to plan it, or the pressure of relatives asking _when are you gonna pop the question?_ Because his _fiancée_ was rocking a modest, but gorgeous diamond on her left hand and they had sent out save the dates for May 15th, just four months away. It was really nice to be able to enjoy everything at a wedding—free food, dancing, celebrating…the drinks, with the woman he loves so much by his side. Which, come to think of it, he has not seen his wife-to-be in a while and he was getting a little tired of talking to her brothers.

They were currently at Amy’s brother— Ben’s wedding, and it just so happen to be several months before theirs. During the ceremony, Amy had already made comments about how their wedding was gonna much prettier and have _better flowers._ To be honest, Jake couldn’t really tell the difference in types of flowers, but he believed her. And, everything is a competition with her siblings, so he knows that she isn’t joking. Half of him thinks that she planned their wedding to come after Ben’s just so that she could top him and impress her mother.

He allows himself to zone out of the conversation to search the crowd when he hears a giggle—one that he’d recognize anywhere—come from the dance floor. _Yep,_ she’s deep in her third drink and dancing, no, waving her hands around with her nephews and nieces. It’s truly an endearing sight—Amy in her long, green dress jumping up and down, hair shaking around as she holds her giggling nephew’s hand and spins her niece around. It makes Jake’s heart grow at the thought of what it would be like for _them_ to have their own kids. Amy would make a wonderful mother, that’s for sure.

Jake daydreams about their upcoming wedding and their possible future family for a while before he notices Amy’s no longer on the dance floor and has gone over to the bar to grab a drink and from his vantage point, he can see her chug down a shot and he gulps nervously. Because, if she was just Amy-Dance-pants, what follows is lowkey ( _okay_ highkey) Jake’s favorite drunk stage of Amy. Horny Amy wasn’t just _a little perverted_ when around her boyfriend, now fiancé. She has no shame whatsoever and _god,_ Jake loves her but if she started making out with him in front of her brothers, they’d tease her about it for _months._

“Hey guys!”

Jake looks up at his gorgeous fiancée walking over to them and breezing past the empty chair beside him, she plops right onto his lap and Jake is so screwed. She wraps her arms around his neck and pecks him quickly on the cheek before turning to acknowledge her brothers. Okay, so the alcohol hasn’t kicked in fully yet, maybe if they leave right no—nope, she was very, very subtly moving her hips against him, and he could feel his erection starting to grow.

“What are you guys talking about?”

“Oh, nothing just, Ben really pulled off a gorgeous wedding, don’t you think?”

Her older brother, Nic smirks at her as she immediately frowns, and Jake moves his arm to her back, rubbing it soothingly— _bad idea._ She starts grinding against him harder, carrying on the conversation casually.

“Well, mine and Jake’s wedding’s gonna be prettier—I mean, did you see the flowers??”

“What are you talking about?” David, _stupid perfect David,_ chimes in, “I thought the flowers went really well with the bridesmaids’ dresses—I think I overheard mom saying something about—”

Jake doesn’t really hear anything else David says because Amy’s actually grinding on him, and he’s so hard and turned on now. She’s taken his hand and placed it on her thigh and Jake really has to resist the urge to move it higher to where she wants it. Amy’s still staring angrily ahead at her brothers (talk about a multitasking queen), as she makes a quick retort back.

“Well, _our_ wedding’s gonna be better, just you wait—right babe?”

She turns to face him, and he’s flushed red now. He nods in response then shifts under her.

“I’m gonna go get another drink,” he mumbles against her ear, gasping softly as she reaches a hand behind her to palm his dick, “you—ahh—you want anything?”

“No, I’m fine—but I’ll come with you, babe.”

She excuses them, as David’s mid-sentence talking about the decorations now, and she keeps herself latched on to him as they make their way through the crowd. Setting herself on a barstool, Jake waves the bartender over and orders a drink as she runs her hands up his chest. They’re in a secluded corner, and the lighting is just dark enough for Jake to see Amy’s lustful eyes shining. He downs his drink as she grabs his other hand and lays in on her bare thigh, noticing that she’s made work of gathering the material to one side.

“Ames—do you—”

She grabs his tie and pulls him down to meet her lips, and as she slips a tongue into his mouth, he groans. Pulling away, he gasps and with a little more sensibility than his horny fiancée, he assesses their setting a bit more. They’re in a dark corner, obviously making out—but his back is to the dance floor and no one can really see them. Everyone's either preoccupied in conversation or on the dance floor. However, her entire family is in the room and they really should leave before Amy does anything that she’ll regret tomorrow—

“Jake, I’m so wet—” her mouth has come up to his ear and he shudders as she whispers seductively “—I need you so bad, babe—” she pulls his hand up higher, moving the fabric of her dress in the process “—please—make me feel good.” She bites down on his neck and he can feel himself hardening even more, spurred on by her incredibly horny state and the way her hands were touching him. The fact that she needed him to relieve her right there where they could be caught by any of her brothers only turns him on even more.

“Ames, are you sure? We—” he gasps as she bites down on his neck again “—we should probably leave and—” He looks up at her as she pulls away from him, expecting her to jump off the stool and drag him out of the room but instead, she’s reaching under her skirt and wiggles a little as she pulls down her—

“Fuck, Amy—you’re really turned on huh?”

She casually slips her black lace underwear into his jacket pocket as he looks carefully into her eyes.

“hmm yeah, I can’t help that you look. so. _fucking._ hot. In your suit—” she graces each word with a peck on his lips “—and I _need_ you to make me come right here.”

“You sure? Your whole family is here and—”

“Ugh, it’s fine, I don’t care about them—I just want you to make me feel good, baby.”

Jake doesn’t like this. Well, he does, _obviously he does,_ but also, he has some decency in himself to not do anything beyond making out when in front of other people. Although, he doesn’t think Amy is going to let him go until she gets what she wants so he looks around and makes sure that none of her brothers or _god_ her father is around. He then slips his hand up her dress and rubs her right thigh, moving so that his body acts as a wall between her and the crowd. Then he’s slipping two fingers into her and he moans at how wet she is

“Fuck, Ames…you’re so wet.”

She gasps and rocks against his fingers.

“I’m gonna make you come, but you gotta be quiet okay?”

She nods against his chest and he starts stroking her inner walls faster.

“Ahh-Jake- _god—_ you’re so good I—” she bites down on his shoulder as his thumb circles her clit, and he groans.

Jake glances around again and then quickens his pace, hoping to get her to where she needs him quicker. He slips in a third finger and pushes in faster and harder.

“Oh-oh—ahh—” he brings his other arm to wrap around her neck and push her face into his chest so that her sounds of pleasure are muffled. And, to anyone that glances over, it’ll just look like she’s laying against his chest as he comforts her—oh, who is he kidding—if David walked by, he’d definitely know what was going on and go tell the rest of her family.

“C’mon Ames—come for me, baby come on.” He’s slamming his fingers into her, curling up to hit her g-spot, and his thumb is flicking her clit wildly as he starts to feel her walls flutter against him. And even through the loud music, he can hear (and feel) the filthy squelching noises of her wet heat—arousal spilling out onto his hands and it’s really turning him on how _fucking horny_ she is and how she wants him enough to make her come right there.

“Jake—Jake—ahh I’m-I’m—” her entire body quivers as she shoots out, and Jake keeps his pace up as she rides out her orgasm—only pulling his hand out from under her dress once she’s fully calmed down. He brings his fingers up to lick and smirks at her.

She’s flushed red and mouth gaping as she pulls his necktie, and crashes her lips on his. He gasps as she makes her way down his jaw and sucks on his neck and _god_ this woman will be the death of him. She starts palming him and he knows she can feel how hard he is—and now he’s the one that’s flushed and shifting uncomfortably.

It takes all the self-control in him to push away from her, earning him a desperate whine that makes him want to rip her dress off and fuck her right there. But Amy is unstoppable at four drinks and Jake knows if she keeps going, he’ll be in too deep to get out (literally). He grabs her waist and pulls her down to the ground, spinning her around so that he’s now facing the crowd and securing her at arms-length.

“Ames, I love you so much bu—”

“Then let me make love to you!”

She’s pouting and Jake bites his lip to hold back a laugh.

“I will, I promise,” he rubs her shoulders up and down before going to fix his necktie, “but—” his eyes widen as he looks over her shoulder to see “Ben’s right there, walking towards us.”

He pats down her dress and adjusts the collar of his shirt.

Ben makes his way to the bar diagonally across from them which Jake is thankful for, awkwardly shifting to hiding his boner.

“Hey guys”

Jake smiles at him, trying to regain composure from being so worked up, “Hey Ben—great wedding!”

“Thanks, man—hey, Ames you okay?”

Her brother glances over at her and she’s definitely more than okay—but her face is still red and eyes dazed. Jake wraps an arm around her waist and pulls her up against him—which he immediately realizes was a mistake. Her hand has gravitated towards his dick and has started rubbing up against him under the bar counter.

“She’s great—just a little tired, I think we’re –” he gulps as she squeezes him “we’re gonna head—” he groans “—we’re gonna—”

“You good, Jake?”

This time Amy speaks up, “Yeah he’s fine—I think what Jake was trying to say is that he doesn’t feel so good, and we’re gonna call it a night.”

“Oh, alright, sorry you’re not feeling well.”

Amy smiles and congratulates her brother before pulling Jake’s wrist and making their way through the crowd. Once they make it out of the reception hall and into the elevator, Jake pushes her up against the wall and growls against her lips.

“You totally threw me under the bus there in front of your brother.”

She giggles and reciprocates his lips moving against her.

“Oh, but I wasn’t wrong—you _aren’t_ feeling well,” she grabs his dick to prove her point.

She pushes against him, and he’s overwhelmed with a mixture of love and affection—and lust and arousal, for her—“I love you so much—” he pecks her cheek and grabs her hands just as the elevator doors open “—and I’m gonna fuck you so hard tonight.”

She grins at him and pulls his hand, into the hallway

“Oh, I’m counting on it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...a little too much maybe? Four drink Amy's a little much, but we love her for it.


	5. Confident

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five drink Amy is weirdly confident, and also as Jake finds out, _very_ competitive.

His eyes are fixed on his girlfriend from across the room. Her body wrapped up in a deep, red dress that accentuates her curves and flows down to her knees. A modest, gorgeous dress but still sexy enough to have Jake be caught staring off into her several times that evening. Who is he kidding, she could be wearing a trash bag and he’d still be mesmerized by her beauty. It’s a wonder he hasn’t dragged her into the bathroom for a quick round. Although, even Jake shudders at the thought of having sex in their superior officer’s super fancy bathroom. It would be incredibly inappropriate and Amy would probably be very against it (he’s sure he could convince four-drink Amy, and kinda wants to do it just for the sake of it).

It was early December, just into the holiday season and they were at Holt & Kevin’s Christmas party — the first time they’ve been invited to their place since the Cheddar incident, and Amy was determined to make a good impression this time. She had told Jake firmly while getting ready to _make sure she didn’t do anything stupid till they got home._ And by stupid he’s pretty sure she means, don’t let her start spontaneously making out with him or doing anything beyond PG-13 in front of her mentor.

However, much to her chagrin, Gina was also at the party and had gotten her up to four drinks pretty quickly. And, while he very much would love to hangout with four drink Amy for a while, she can get a little (a lot) out of control, so knowing that there was no going back from this, Jake simply offered her another drink, which she downed quickly — concluding that five drink Amy was bound to be far more appropriate than four drinks.

And that’s where he finds himself now — watching Amy Santiago, his gorgeous, sexy girlfriend talking to some other guests, and as he catches her eyes, she smiles a bright smile. He’s drifting through the crowd, seemingly magnetized by her smile, until he finds himself right beside her and pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.

“Hey, Ames”

She hums and turns to wraps an arm around him.

“Hey babe…” she leans her head on his shoulder as he looks around at the strings of dim Christmas lights around them, various decorations set meticulously around the living area.

“Great party huh? I mean, no one’s fucked up yet — even Hitchcock and Scully seem to be pretty put together this time."

“Hmm… well, _I’m_ never the problem, Jake. I’m always the one on the squad fixing everyone else’s screw ups.”

 _Wow, a little proud there, Amy._ Jake bites back the retort and just chuckles, leaning to whisper against her ear.

“Well, what about at Captain Holt’s birthday party? Remember when I caught you snooping in their bedroom? Even then, you were obsessed with the Captain.”

She ignores him, humming and darting her eyes around. Holt and Kevin are gathered with several guests by the fireplace where three stockings are carefully hung — one for the each of them, and of course, the other has _Cheddar_ stitched into it. There’s an elegant Christmas tree to the right of it, with several wrapped presents sitting snugly underneath.

“Holt and Kevin really decked out this year, huh? The tree looks really nice.”

Amy snorts loudly, and confused, Jake looks down at her to see her nose scrunched up almost in disgust…?

“What? You don’t like the decor? I mean, I’m no Christmas expert but I think the lights are really nice, and the stockings over there…”

“Pffft—” Amy gestures to the lights “You think the lights are _nice?_ Right, yeah you’re _definitely_ no Christmas expert. And, the tree is slightly askew, there are three gold baubles lined too close to each other…everyone knows you’re supposed to make sure the colors are evenly spread out. Oh and don’t get me started on the angel ornaments there.”

Jake’s a little taken aback by Amy’s sudden outburst, knowing full well even if everything she said _were_ true, she’d never voice it out loud, especially when about Captain Holt. And that’s when it hits him— he’d almost forgotten — she’s at five drinks. _Of course._ She’s over-confident Amy, who’s just slightly — okay, sometimes very, extremely prideful. To be honest, five drink Amy can be a little savage.

He hasn’t seen much of confident Amy since they started dating. She usually just goes and challenges the Sarge to arm-wrestling, or one time, she went on about how she deserved to get a promotion, that she _should basically be captain already_ with all the work she’s done at the nine-nine.

Jake chuckles a little and remembers his promise to her about not doing anything stupid, and he’s pretty sure she’d regret it if she said any of that in front of Holt.

“Okay, I believe you babe but maybe let’s keep our opinions about the decorations to ourselves?”

Amy rolls her eyes and nuzzles her nose into his shoulder, mumbling against it.

“M’just sayin… our family’s Christmas tree is always perfect. It’s the best, and we definitely don’t have any baubles in that ugly blue color. You’ll see this Christmas, I’ll show you how a tree _should_ be decorated.”

Jake smiles and an odd but amazing sense of warmth rushes through him at the thought of spending Christmas with Amy and the Santiago clan. This is their second Christmas together, last year, they both worked through the holidays - but this year, things were getting serious. While he had met at least half the family already, it meant a lot to him that Amy wanted to bring him along for something as important as family Christmas gatherings. And, apparently he’ll learn what a perfectly decorated Christmas tree looks like.

“I can’t wait, babe.”

Holt and Kevin clink their glasses to get everyone’s attention, and Jake turns to look at the two men standing in front of everyone. They’re both dressed in neatly pressed suits, each with a different festive tie. Jake thinks that’s the most color he’s seen Holt wear.

Kevin’s soothing radio-voice echoes throughout the room, “Thank you everyone for coming tonight, we hope you have been enjoying yourselves.” He pauses to look around the room, then a smile forms on his face as he continues, “If you’ve been to one of our Christmas parties in past years, you would know that we have a little annual competition.”

Jake sees Amy literally perk up at that. His girl _loves_ competition. I mean, don’t get him wrong, he loves competing as well, but sometimes five drink Amy can get a little too intense in competition. Whatever this is, Amy Santiago should definitely _not_ participate. For the sake of herself, for Holt, and for literally everyone at the party.

Holt’s voice booms in that deep commanding tone, consistently monotonous, “That is right, to add some festive activity to this party, it is now time for our annual gingerbread house competition!”

A few of the guests cheer.

Uh oh, Jake looks down to see Amy smiling, eyes widening as she follows Holt’s movements. He grabs a few boxes and sets them on the table in front of them.

“In here, there are ingredients to build a gingerbread house. This year, we shall have three teams. Each team will have to pick two people to represent them by making a gingerbread house.”

Kevin continues, “The teams are grouped as the following — family members versus university faculty versus the nine-nine. Each pair will have thirty minutes to complete a gingerbread house, and Raymond and I will be judging based on structural integrity, creativity and quality.”

There’s some murmuring between the guests as Amy grabs his bicep, tugging him.

“What, Ames?”

He looks down at her and cuts her off before she starts speaking.

“Nope, no babe you are _not_ competing.”

She furrows her eyebrows and frowns at him, “What? Why not?”

“Babe, you’re drunk and you competing at five drinks will be a complete disaster. Plus, no offense, but I’m sure someone else on the squad could make a better gingerbread house than you could.”

Amy gasps and lets go of him, taking a step back.

“How dare you, Jake.”

He bites his lip, unsure of whether to find this humorous or terrifying. Rosa, Gina, and Terry have gathered around and Jake looks to them, desperate for their help.

“See! Terry’s here—Terry, you’re great at building castles for your girls, I’m sure you’d be great at building a gingerbread house!”

“Oh, Terry’s amazing at gingerbread houses alright. But Terry’s gotta get home to his family. Gotta read my girls their bedtime story and kiss them goodnight.”

Jake groans, and Amy grabs his hand, intertwining their fingers.

“See! Jake, c’mon, you and I can do this. We’ll totally win. I’ve made gingerbread houses before! I’ve done it at every Christmas!!”

Jake narrows his eyes at her, raising a single eyebrow.

“And were you any good?”

“Yes!! C’mon! We don’t have time! Let’s go show these incompetent bozos how it’s done.”

Jake’s eyes widen and Gina and Rosa are laughing.

Rosa pats him on the shoulder, and he looks at her hopefully.

“Nope, I’m not competing. I’m just here to watch this—” she gestures towards Amy who is tugging Jake’s hand “—disaster fall apart spectacularly.”

Gina giggles and chimes in, “I’m with Rosa.” She looks at Amy, who’s muttering words Jake can’t quite make out. “Ames!! You got this!! Go show these sons of bitches how it’s done!!”

Jake rolls his eyes as Amy’s eyes light up and pulls him towards her.

“C’mon Jake, let’s win this thing.”

This wasn’t going to end well.

They were up against Holt’s sister and Kevin’s brother from team family, and two of Kevin’s colleagues who looked like they were _made_ to create gingerbread houses. They were definitely going to lose.

It’s five minutes in and Jake decides that if things aren’t going to end well, then he’d rather go down gloriously, so he focuses on adding icing and firmly holding the crackers together.

“Jake!! Hold still!! You’re messing up the icing!!” Amy hisses at him as she intently squeezes what is surprisingly a straight line of icing onto the corner of the crackers.

For being drunk, Amy is still consistently her focused, organized, and efficient self.

They take their time constructing the structure of the house and Jake obediently follows his girlfriend’s instructions (they’re more orders than anything else), and halfway through, they’re discussing how they’re going to decorate it. He’s surprised that nothing’s fallen apart yet—and he glances over to see Kevin’s brother struggling to keep their crackers to stand up.

“Alright, so we have some gummy be—”

Amy pauses abruptly, looking at Jake suspiciously.

“Jake, are you eating the gummy bears?”

He quickly swallows and puts on a smile, “No. Nope, not at all.”

Amy rolls her eyes and grabs his wrist, pulling him close to her, and up close Jake can literally see fire in her eyes — he isn’t sure if that’s out of anger or passion or desire or competition — or maybe a mixture of everything?

“Babe, we are _gonna win_ this thing. And to win I need you to _focus.”_

She’s speaking authoritatively and it’s meant to scare Jake, but it’s honestly just turning him on. He just nods his head and as his eyes flicks across her face, he smiles softly at her.

“What? Why are you smiling like that?”

“You-you’ve got some icing on your cheek there here let me—” Jake leans forward and kisses her cheek, swiping his tongue along the dab of icing that was stained there. He pulls away to look at her, and sees that she’s a little dazed. Her eyes soften and goodness he loves her so much. He loves her and he’s going to win this stupid competition for her — well, for himself too, but mainly for Amy.

He grabs her wrist and looks down at their ingredients.

“Alright, babe, let’s win this thing.”

They quickly assemble the rest of the sugary house and he’s gently setting a green gummy bear by the adorable little door Amy drew out at the front of the house.

As Kevin calls time, Amy drags him towards her and kisses his cheek, whispering in his ear, “I love you so much, this is the best house ever.”

Jake hums, filled with an overwhelming amount of affection for her, and wraps his arms around her shoulder, her own arms circling around his waist.

“I gotta say, this turned out better than I expected.”

They don’t win. Kevin’s colleagues do — and deservedly so, with their extravagant gingerbread mansion.

But they take home their little house and demolish it in all its sweet goodness. This is the first festive activity of the year and Jake usually hates these sorts of things, but with Amy he’s happy to start these traditions, to celebrate holidays like Christmas.

Later as they’re laying on the couch, knocked out in a sugar-coma, Amy’s tracing patterns on his chestand kissing the corner of his mouth, licking some green icing off and giggling, before laying her head on his chest.

Jake sighs contentedly and runs a hand through her hair, relishing in the incredible joy and fullness he’s feeling.

“Babe, thanks for doing this with me…I know I was…a little competitive.”

Jake laughs and reaches down to squeeze her hand.

“It’s okay, Ames…I love it when you get competitive. And I’m sorry we lost.”

“No, it’s fine. Those jerks knew it was coming. If I’d known, I would’ve made a binder or had us practice at the very least.”

Jake laughs at her consistency, placing a kiss against her hair.

“It’s okay, Jake—I-I had fun doing that with you…so thank you.”

He sighs and closes his eyes for a moment, nuzzling his nose against her.

“That was my first gingerbread house…and I’m glad it was with you.”

Amy lifts her head up to look at him, all soft and adorable—and definitely very sleepy.

“I love you, Jake.”

“I love you too, Ames…”

He leans down and they fall into a dizzying, sugar-filled kiss. As they part, Jake smiles widely and mumbles against her lips, “We’re totally gonna make the best one at your family’s Christmas though”

“Damn straight we will. We’re gonna make the best gingerbread house, even David won’t stand a chance.”

Jake chuckles affectionately as she moves onto his lap, kissing him again. And as her lips mold against his, he taste sugar and love and hope and promise. Something that’s so new for the holiday season, something he’s never felt during this time of year.

He could get used to this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this took so long! I kept writing and re-writing it and was never satisfied -- but this is what i came up with!
> 
> Hope you guys enjoyed it, though. Let me know what you thought 😊


	6. Sad (but not so lonely)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Six drink Amy is sad and lonely - but here and now with her boyfriend, it's a little different.
> 
> Set after Florida at D.O.G. party 2017

Jake was _beaming._ He had a grin plastered onto his face for the past several hours. It was so. damn. good. to be back. To be back in New York, be back in his flannels and hoodies — rather than stuck in gross, hot Florida, in stupid shorts and flip flops.

_It was good to be home._

And, by _home_ it's... home, is Charles giving him a ten-minute hug and talking about his newly adopted son, Nikolaj, non-stop. He surprisingly has enjoyed listening to endless stories and looking at the 4,000 photo album he created of his adorable little kid. Guess that’s what six months away from your best friend would do to you. Home, oddly enough is Gina’s snide comments and constant chatter about her dance troop. He’s spent a good amount of time catching up on everything he’s missed — both about the squad and pop culture, simply by reading through Gina’s Twitter.

They were currently at D.O.G. (Detectives Only Getaway) 2017, just a month after he and Holt got back from Florida. They weren’t at Eleanor’s beach house this year, instead at a nice lake house Terry’s relatives own upstate — and Jake’s enjoyed every minute of it. It truly, really feels like he’s finally home. He’s finally back with his _family,_ and god, he’s missed this so much.

“Yes!!!”

Holt jumps up off the couch in glee, and Jake lets out a laugh. The captain is really letting loose this weekend, stooping down to their level—or, maybe he's also missed the squad just as much as Jake has. Terry groans and leans back, chugging down the rest of his drink. The sarge, currently clad in a vibrant bathrobe, a fanny pack and plush booties. It was quintessential Terry Jeffords. A sight that makes Jake smile even wider. 

His two superiors, Gina and Charles were currently playing quarters as Jake watches them from the kitchen, currently talking to Rosa. Whom, he’s _also_ missed a ton. Even if it’s just sitting and drinking together in silence.

“Holt’s going all out this year, huh?”

Jake turns to look at Rosa, and he swears he sees a smile ghosting her lips as she sips her drink.

“Yeah…”

His eyes soften as he turns to take in the scene before him — and even seeing Hitchcock and Scully passed out on the couch in the corner somehow warms his heart.

“…I guess…we just really missed you all.” He glances back at Rosa and his lips curl up to smile wider, “… _I_ really missed you all.”

Rosa punches his shoulder playfully and smirks at him.

“It’s good to have you back.”

And that’s probably the most emotion he’ll get from Rosa, but he instantly feels tears forming at the corners of his eyes.

“It’s good to be back.”

He sighs, content to just sit and watch his co-workers squabble and laugh. And as his eyes wander through the cozy living space, he realizes that one very significant person is missing in action. The one person that’s made being back feel like home — now more than ever. The woman that is the center of his _whole world_ and who’s made everything — down to working the night shift — so much better.

_Amy._

His head swivels in search of the dining area around the corner and then turns back to Rosa, and just as he’s opening his mouth to speak, she speaks up.

“Looking for Santiago?”

“Yeah, d’you know where she—I haven’t seen her in a while and everyone else is here…”

Rosa nods.

“Yeah, I think I saw her out on the front porch.”

Jake furrows his eyebrows and tilts his head in concern.

“Is she…uh…is she ok?”

Rosa frowns then shrugs her shoulders.

“I don’t know…she seemed pretty tired last I saw her. I think Gina might have given her one too many drinks again.”

Jake sets his drink down and stands up.

“I’m gonna go check on her.”

Rosa nods at him and he nods back — feeling a sense of comfortable familiarity rush through him.

As he opens the door out onto the front porch, he sees Amy’s figure dimly lit by a single lamp. She’s curled up in a throw blanket on the bench, staring out into the dark woods and he can’t tell from this angle, but it seems like she’s deep in thought.

“Ames…?”

He speaks softly as he approaches his girlfriend, but he still seems to have startled her as she whips her head to look at him. And as his eyes meets hers, he realizes that she’s been crying. Her eyes are pink and slightly puffy, as she brings up the sleeve of her sweatshirt to wipe her cheeks.

“Oh, hey…” she offers him a soft, tired smile as he rushes over to her, “…I didn’t hear you come out.”

Jake scoots right next to her so that his hip is up against hers and wraps an arm around her shoulders, drawing her close to him.

“Babe…” he runs his hand down her forearm, as he finds her hands to interlock with.

She sighs as her head nestles right under his chin, feeling her breath against his neck and finding comfort in having her in his arms again. He presses a kiss to her hair before murmuring against it.

“…what’s wrong…are you—you okay?”

Amy hums and nuzzles her nose further into his chest and Jake instinctively tightens his grip around her, squeezing her hand that’s currently intertwined with his, and using his other to stroke her hair softly.

They sit there for a few quiet minutes, the soft buzz of the lamp and gentle breeze rustling the leaves filling the silence. Jake just focuses on holding his girlfriend and letting them sit there in this rare hushed moment — something he’s gotten quite fond of since returning from Florida. While he might usually try and say something to diffuse extended silences, with Amy, he’d rather just be there. And right now, whatever might be going on, he lets her draw comfort and warmth from him. Whatever she needs.

He feels her take a breath before talking, barely above a whisper, against the collar of his shirt.

“I…I just missed you…”

She trails off as she glances up to look into his eyes — and her brown orbs are shining against the brimming tears and Jake’s heart expands with how much he loves this woman. How much _he missed_ _her_.

“Ames…I’m…I missed you too. But..I’m here, I’m here baby, and I’m not going anywhere.”

She sighs and cuddles back into him, sniffing softly and clutching his arm tighter.

He glances over Amy’s body, at the wooden stool by the bench and sees an empty glass. He furrows his eyebrows and quickly does a mental recollection of the evening. They’d brought out the booze in the afternoon, and by dinner time, Amy was talking very loudly — once even yelling at the captain—which, he _cannot_ wait to tell her about tomorrow morning. She’d gotten to four drinks, very unsubtly dragging Jake into their bedroom while their friends played boardgames. He thinks she had a fifth drink but can’t be sure about the sixth.

He feels her body shudder under him and hears her sniff, wiping her eyes against his shirt. Six-drink Amy gets a little emotional — a little sad at times. She also gets lonely - and before they were dating, six drink Amy was certain that she was going to die alone. Which is _insane_ , if you asked Jake. But now, with all that’s happened in the past seven months, six drink Amy was bound to be just a little extra sad, maybe a little more lonely. And Jake hurts at the thought of his girlfriend feeling so alone - sure, he's gone through a lot - but she has to. Oh, and he loves her so much, he would hold sad-Amy just to comfort and listen to her forever if he could.

“Amy…”

He pulls back and uses his hand to tilt her chin up to look at him, moving to swipe the tears that are trickling down her cheek. Jake offers her a soft, sympathetic smile — hoping she understands that he’s there — he’s here to listen and he’s here to stay.

“Babe, I’m here. Talk to me.”

She manages a sweet smile back and her arm wraps around him, fingers crawling up to tangle in his hair.

“Just…I was…was thinking about all the time we…” her eyes dart away as she trails off, finger mindlessly twirling a curl at the nape of his neck.

But Jake knows what she’s getting at and he leans his forehead against hers.

“I know…babe, we—we uh…we lost a lot of time. I mean, six months is long and…”

Now Jake’s trailing off, unsure of what he wants to say. Because nothing could make up for all the time that they’ve lost. There’s nothing he can do to make up for the time he spent away in Florida, away from Amy.

Amy nods, looking into his eyes again and sighing. She shifts, wrapping her other arm around his neck, and moving to sit on his lap, huddling together for warmth — and really just to be closer to each other. To somehow make up for all the time spent alone, _thinking_ about cuddling, _thinking and dreaming_ about being wrapped up in each other.

Jake smiles then takes a breath before voicing the thoughts that have been running through his mind since he’d returned. Somehow being with six-drink Amy _also_ makes him emotional and all up in his feelings.

“Ames…do you…do you ever wonder where we’d be if I didn’t have to leave?…like, where would our relationship be…”

He trails off and it's silent again as Amy closes her eyes, and Jake’s afraid that he just triggered another wave of tears, but then her lips curl up in the most beautiful smile and when she opens her eyes he sees _love. So much love._

“I think…” her hand runs down and around his neck, up to his cheek and he leans into her touch as she strokes his jaw with her thumb.

“…I think, that…you’d have visited my family. Like, not just my mom who you’ve met already, but all my brothers — and they would’ve loved you. You’d get along with them so well.”

Jake grins and he feels tears threatening to spill out of _his_ eyes now.

“…and we would have actually celebrated our first anniversary together, instead of … just I don’t know, going to your apartment and sitting in your bed, drinking wine whilst wearing your hoodie…” she lets out a nervous laugh and Jake feels a tear run down his cheek. That was his first time hearing that, and it somehow makes his heart break and burst with affection at the same time.

“Ames…d-did you really…?”

“yeah, just to—to be as close to you as I could…”

She looks up at him through her eyelashes and Jake can see a faint glow of a blush rising in her cheeks — she’s somehow embarrassed but honestly, this is probably the best thing he’s heard, the most endearing thing and he’s just a little more in love with her.

“I love you, Ames.”

She smiles up at him, and pecks his lips softly, murmuring against it, “love you too…”

Her smile widens a little more as she pulls back, and Jake thinks the haziness of the alcohol is starting fade as the sad look in her eyes a minute ago switches into one of pure contentment, a joy so warm it’s enough to comfort Jake, to make up for all the lost time.

“…and I think,” she breathes out, continuing to smile through her words, “even though we missed out on many things, even though things might be different…my love for you, babe, hasn’t changed. I think, if anything I love you even more — being separated from you made me realize how much I love you, how much I _need_ you.”

Jake could cry out in happiness. He doesn’t know what he did to deserve Amy, to deserve someone so smart, wise, gorgeous, genuine, kind and loving — someone who cares about him so much it hurts. 

His eyebrows furrow and his eyes soften into the most loving look as he now cups her cheek and wipes away the tears falling down — this time, certainly a happy cry. 

“I love you so much, Jake…and I—I missed you. Just, I missed you so damn much but…but I’m glad you’re here.”

With that she stretches her arm back around his neck and hugs herself close to his chest—to the gentle beating of his heart.

“I’m glad I’m here, too.”

“M’never gonna let you go.”

“I’m here to stay, babe.”

They sit, intertwined in each other for a while, minutes go by and he knows they should probably head back in and join their friends, or go to bed — but Jake wants this safe, warm bubble they’ve formed to last forever. He wants just a moment more in this feeling…this feeling of…

“You promise?”

Jake hums against her, as she mumbles against his flannel.

“D-do you promise to never go…? You’re gonna stay?”

He looks down at her face squished into his chest and runs his hand through her hair, tucking a strand behind her ear. The thought of _forever_ is scary, but with Amy, it’s all he ever wants. And so, while that question would normally freak Jake out, he doesn’t have any trouble saying,

“Of course, Ames. I promise. As long as it’s within my power — I promise to stay. I'll fight the universe for you every day. ”

She smiles sleepily up at him, and maybe they’re both a little delirious, a little tipsy and a little infatuated — but he believes every word he says. Maybe six-drink Amy got a little sad, a little lonely, and sometimes it even makes Jake cry - but he's happy to share the tears and sadness, to sit and talk about anniversaries spent alone - as long as he always gets to come back to Amy. 

And as he takes in the scent of her faded perfume, mixed in with alcohol, feeling her soft sweatshirt underneath his fingertips and listens to her gentle breathing — all these things anchors his heart, comforts him. All these things an anthem that repeats itself over and over saying, _you’re home._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a little hurt/comfort/sweetness peraltiago to hopefully brighten your day ❤️
> 
> let me know what you thought...and any guesses to what seven drink Amy is? I have my thoughts that'll go into the next chap, but I wanna hear yours!
> 
> thanks for reading:)


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